We started this year wanting to stress the innovation that is occurring in electronics, often below the radar of the masses. Twelve months later, we find even ourselves a bit stunned at the depth and breadth of what we uncovered.

Due to an illness, I jumped in to co-chair a session at SMTAI. In doing so, I had the pleasure of spending a little time with a longtime industry machine designer. Afterward, he asked an interesting question:

In the course of nearly 20 years in tech journalism, I’ve had the opportunity to talk to some very interesting people. Like, for example, when I received a call from one Jerry Falwell Jr. (the son of that Falwell), who wanted to know if an idea on printed circuit design that had been donated to his father’s Liberty University was worth patenting. (It wasn’t.)